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Tag: mens journal

An Men’s Journal article crossed my Facebook this morning entitled “The Complete List of Fake Craft Breweries and Their Real Owners“. The brewery I work for is on that list. Does that make me mad? No. It’s true, we’re owned by a larger entity and therefore not eligible for the Brewers Association definition of “craft”. What irritates me though, is the implication of this article and others like it that circle around every time a brewery gets bought that these companies are lying about being craft and trying to fool the consumer. In 30 out of the 32 cases on the list that’s simply not true.

The two “Breweries” on the list that I would consider faux craft are Blue Moon and Shock Top. Those two were started as anonymous branches of their parents, Miller Coors and A-B InBev respectively, specifically to compete against the burgeoning craft industry 20 years ago. It’s pretty common knowledge now who those are owned by. Blue Moon Brewing Co. Golden Colorado isn’t too hard to figure out.

Every other brewery on the list is a brewery that was previously considered craft but then got bought by a larger entity. It seems to happen more and more often these days, but here’s the thing. It’s not a secret. These aren’t back room deals. That’s not how the American market works. There has to be transparency to prevent monopolies and protect unions and trade organizations. When 10 Barrel here in Bend, Oregon got bought by A-B InBev it was reported by both the BA and American Homebrewers Association and every beer blog and beer enthusiast website in Portland within *hours*. Everyone knew. It was announced publicly, because legally it has to be.

Is there an argument to be made that these larger breweries are using their clout to push other beers off the shelf and dominate distributor channels? Sure, that’s possible. But, in all honestly, that was happening before they started buying up other breweries. The big boys have always thrown their weight around. That’s nothing new.

Here’s the beauty of it though. Beer is a democracy. We vote with our dollars. Everyone is entitled to decide what they want to drink. Brands that don’t sell will discontinue, it’s as simple as that. You choose what you support and what you don’t.

Here’s food for thought though when it comes to “craft”. The BA is a trade organization and they do great work protecting the smaller breweries from “the big boys”. But, there’s no legal definition of “craft” besides their member guidelines. It’s not a protected appellate like Trappist. It’s not a tightly regulated and tested status like “Organic”. It’s just a word. The BA recently upped their limit of “small” to 6 million barrels, specifically to include Yuengling as craft. Do they deserve to be? Sure. They are America’s oldest still operating brewery and are still family owned. But they are also a huge industrial brewery that distributes beer across the nation. The brewery I work for produced roughly 100,000 barrels last year and we only distribute in Oregon and Washington. Which one is more close to the definition of craft? You decide.